News roundup: March 2019

Here are some important stories you may have missed in March from Texas, the United States and around the world told with photos.

MARCH 2019 ROUNDUP

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TEXAS - Houston’s Prop B results in layoffs: Mayor Turner released the year timeline of Houston’s implementation of Prop B [1]. The plan projects 400-500 firefighters and municipal personal will be laid off over several months. Prop B was voted for in the 2018 midterms with the goal of raising the pay of firefighters to the pay of police officers. Those against the change warned it would be too expensive as it did not lay out a funding source. The Houston Professional Fire Fighters Union is asking to implement the raise over three and a half years with no layoffs while Turner wants a five-year implementation. Photo courtesy of Alvaro 'Al' Ortiz and Houston Public Media.

TEXAS - Measles and mumps: Texas has seen a spike in disease outbreaks and cases the last few months. As of March 21, 14 total cases of measles [2] have been confirmed in Texas with 4 coming from Harris county. Since the start of the Texas Legislative session this year, four anti-vaccine bills [3] have been introduced. The Texas Department of State Health Services(DSHS) reported since October there has been 186 people [4], made up of staff and immigrants, with cases of the mumps in detention centers. DSHS spokesperson Lara Anton said that though they don’t have the vaccination record of all migrants, all unaccompanied minors are vaccinated when detained. Image courtesy of Google Maps and graphic by The Signal Online Editor Alyssa Shotwell.

TEXAS - Asylum seekers detained under El Paso Bridge: March 27 Nick Mirnoff and Bob Moore tweeted photos [5] of a crowd of immigrants being held outside under the Paso El Norte Bridge in El Paso near Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) Commissioner McAleenan’s press conference. The area acted as a parking lot for the nearest CBP agency until it was converted into emergency housing when the normal housing facilities reached capacity. Border Patrol spokesperson Ramiro Cordero stated [6] the wait time was up to two days and 3,369 immigrants were in their custody that morning. By March 31, the immigrants moved to an unknown location as the bridge was cleared. Photo courtesy of Nick Mirnoff.

UNITED STATES - Citizen shot by police while asleep in car: After weeks of public pressure, Vallejo Police released footage March 29 [10] showing that on Feb. 9 six officers shot 20-year-old Willie McCoy 25 times while he was sleeping in his car at a Taco Bell in Vallejo, California. Taco bell employees called 911 out of concern as McCoy was unresponsive in the drive-thru. McCoy’s brother was glad the footage was released, but stated “There’s a thousands videos on YouTube that show police misconduct, whether it’s beating citizens or killing them.” Police stated on the the day this was released,"Our hope is that this information helps members of the public separate fact from fiction regarding this incident.” [11] Photo courtesy of Brock Stoneham.

UNITED STATES - Flooding in midwest: Several states across the midwest experienced historic flooding [7] throughout March which resulted in three deaths and an estimated one billion in damage [8] in Nebraska alone. With the snow still on the ground, melting exacerbated the flooding. In addition to housing, business and automotive damage, the region experienced the destruction of its farmlands and hundreds of livestock died. In Nebraska alone, 80% of its counties experienced a state of emergency. Chapter 12 bankruptcy protection rose by 19% last year [9] as well and with much of America’s food and agriculture coming from the midwest, food prices are projected to increase in 2019-2020. Photo courtesy of Bellevue Police Department via Reuters.

UNITED STATES - Trump uses first veto: On March 15, after both the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives and the Republican-controlled Senate passed the resolution, President Donald Trump used his first veto [12] to continue his national emergency declaration on the U.S.-Mexico border. March 26, the House failed to get the final 2/3 vote for it to continue to the Senate a final time in order to override the veto. Democrat and Republican critics of the declaration plan to look to landowner rights and legality of Trump redirecting funds as they move forward. Both of which will be challenged through the judicial systems. Photo courtesy of Alex Wong.

INTERNATIONAL - K-Pop sex scandals: Women in South Korea have protested for years about being filmed in secret [13]. Many entertainers and businessmen in K-pop have been found accused and/or found guilty of sex crimes and bribery throughout March. The crimes [14] range from sharing explicit videos of women without consent in a group chat to bribing police. Outside of the K-Pop industry, the South Korean police have accused four men of setting up cameras in over 30 hotels [15] and selling videos of unknowing couples having sex online to roughly 4,000 subscribers on their website. Image courtesy of Chung Sung-Jun.

INTERNATIONAL - Russia deploys troops in Venezuela - In late March, Russia deployed [16] equipment and 100 troops across the world into Venezuela. There are concerns [17] that in addition to the political and economic turmoil in Venezuela, that Russia’s presences will increase the likelihood of more violence and chaos. President Trump and Defense Secretary Mike Pompeo have called for Russia to stop sending troops and weapons to Venezuela. Photo by Steve Hanke.

BRIGHT SIDE - Ohio Senate Bill 86 [18] went into effect mid March and one of the sections included making shelter animals the official state pet. This follows California, Colorado, Georgia and Illinois and Tennessee enacting similar designations. The Humane Society of the United States applauded the efforts and hopes more states follow suit [19]. The organization wants people to consider shelters first and search through their Shelter Pet Project database. [20] Photo by Thomas Spangler.

Read More:

Texas

Houston’s Prop B results in layoffs
[1]
Measles and Mumps
[2], [3], [4]
Asylum seekers detained under El Paso Bridge
[5], [6]

United States

Flooding in midwest
[7], [8], [9]
Citizen shot by police while asleep in car
[10], [11]
Trump uses first veto
[12]

International

K-Pop sex scandals
[13], [14], [15]
Russia deploys troops in Venezuela
[16], [17]

The bright side

[18], [19], [20]